Time for some sun!

We arrived in Fiji and the heat hit us as we walked off the plane. This is what New Zealand was missing.

Through security we were greeted by a lovely lady who pointed us where to wait for the driver to arrive to take us to bamboo where we were staying for one night.

On check in we bumped into Christine who we met on our Whitsunday tour in Australia. That evening caught up with Christine and enjoyed a couple of drinks as the sunset.

With an early start the following morning we called it a night.

Manta Ray Island

We were picked up at 7am to get our transfer to the ferry terminal. The catamaran trip was great - the sun was shining and the breeze blowing through our hair! When we saw our first island now we knew we were in paradise! We stopped off at six islands before it was our stop. Each island varied in size but all looked like paradise. To get to our island the catamaran stopped and a small fishing boat pulled up alongside to transfer us to our resort. The Fijians literally threw our bags into the boat - I just hope they caught ours!

Manta Ray island is Located in the majestic Yasawa Islands amongst many other treasures and as we neared the island we were greeted by the staff at the resort playing guitars and singing a traditional Fijian song welcoming us to the island. We were all helped ashore and were guided to the reception area and given a refreshing tropical juice drink.

After were welcomed and given information about the resort we were guided to our room. We were in the 32-bed dorm! This was the biggest dorm I have stayed in to date I was just hoping that no one snored!!

Then came the first set of beach drums, from the top of the resort that signalled us to lunch. There was a big menu board that had ten options to choose from, Bobbi and I had decided to opt for the 'healthier options' whilst here in Fiji. We selected the catch of the day that was freshly cooked for us and came with a side of salad.

After we had eaten, Bobbi and I spent the afternoon enjoying the sunshine on the beach. We both hired snorkelling gear and was amazed at the amount of different species of fish we could see on the reef just off the beach. We even saw an octopus!

Day 2 - Manta Ray Island

I woke up early as the light shon through the window. Breakfast was at 8am and consisted of a buffet including fruit, cereals, eggs and porridge. The food in the island was a lot better than I had expected.

At 10am there had been a sighting of Manta ray's so I grabbed my snorkelling gear and headed off in the boat with four others in the hope that we would get to see a manta ray. We were in the boat for 40 minutes and had no luck. We had missed them swimming out against the current. This was such a shame as Howard (another guy from the resort) had swum with them earlier that morning. Hopefully we will have another chance tomorrow morning.

All sunned out Bobbi and I went to grab an early shower and head down to the beach bar for a drink before dinner. Dinner was great and consisted of soup to start, followed by chicken and seasonal vegetables and fruit for dessert.

The evening entertainment on a Friday was traditional Fijian dancing and singing. The entertainment manager Gabi definitely made the show. By the end of the evening the Fijians has all of the guests up dancing with them. This was a fantastic night and enjoyed by everyone.

Day 3 - Manta Ray Island

I woke up early again and decided to go for the 7am Manta ray swim hoping I would have better luck early morning before low tide.

However so did many other guests, there were 32 in total and we took three boats out.

Manta rays are attracted to the island due to the strong nutrient rich currents that funnel through the narrow channels around the island, the manta ray are able to access their main food source, plankton, with ease, and in great abundance.

I am so glad I got up, I saw 6 manta rays in total. I made sure I stayed 10 meters back from the rest of the group so as the manta rays passed them I caught a glimpse and followed them for as long as I could against the current. This meant that I got a couple of great videos. This is definitely one of the best things I have done on the trip so far, I couldn't quite believe how big the mantas were it was truly a magical once in a lifetime experience!

For the rest of the day I was still buzzing and met Bobbi before heading for breakfast and enjoyed the island and the surroundings for the rest of the day.